Ware-conveying head



June 24, 193 J. E. SCHRODER WARE CONVEYING HEAD Filed Nov. 21, 1927Inventor John E. Sdzroder 041 tornqg Patented June 24, 1930 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN E. SCHRODER, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNOR TO HARTFORD-EMPIRE COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ACORLPORATION OF DELAWARE WARE-CONVEYING HEAD Application filed November21, 1927. Serial No. 234,869.

This invention relates to mechanism for transferrin articles such asglassware, and more speci cally to mechanism for plcking up bottles, orother glass articles, at one place and depositing them at another place.

The invention may be incorporated in a lehr stacker, that is, a devicefor picking up glassware from a conveyor and placing it in an annealinglehr but it will be apparent that the invention may be employed equallywell for removing a glass article from the mold in which it is shaped,or for transferring a partially formed article (a parison or blank) fromone mold to another or in numerous other similar services.

A Well known type of mechanism of the character described conveys thebottles or other glassware by tongs which grip the upper part of theware below a shoulder of some kind. Using bottles as a most convenientware for the purpose of illustration, the tongs close upon the neck ofthe bottle just below the finish, so that when the bottle is picked up,the finish will prevent it from slipping therethrough. The tongs areusually provided with V-notches, so that the neck of the bottle isengaged by four surfaces, two on each jaw, tangential thereto.

Some ditficulty has, however, been experienced in handling certain warewhile very hot and semi-plastic due to the fact that movement of theware which is held at but one point tends tovcause distortion anddeformation, in the case of bottles, of the neck with respect to theremainder of the bottles. This applies particularly to large bottles.

In addition,- difficulty is sometimes experienced in the ware tippingover as it is deposited on the lehr conveyor or other receiving stationwith possible harmful results.

To overcome these various difficulties, I provide a steadying devicewhich engages the ware at a point spaced from the point of engagement ofthe tongs, specifically the bottom portion, to prevent any distortionand practically to insure that the ware will remain in an uprightposition after being deposited.

Among the objects of the present inven rections; to provide a steadyingdevice which will have a minimum of movement toward and away from thetongs, whereby to prevent scratching or deforming the ware; and ingeneral to improve in the construction of steadying devices for theabove enumerated purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ware conveying devicehaving tongs to grip the ware adjacent to its top and a steadying deviceadapted to engage the ware adjacent to its bottom in which the steadyingdevice is movable to an inoperative position when the tongs are opensuch that ware is movable in lateral directions toward or away and alsosuch that ware may be placed by the device close to other articles in alateral direction, as in a lehr, without interference between thesteadying device and such other articles.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from areading of the following specification and subjoined claims when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the device showing a bottle supported andsteadied thereby;

Fig. 2 is an elevation taken from hand side of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a section on the 1; and

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3, but showing the steadying fingersin their inoperative position.

The device comprises a member 1 which may be suitably fixed in anydesired type of this member being suitthe right line 3-3 in Fig.

bolts 2 to a cylinder 3 having therein a piston 4. The cylinder 3 isprovided with two downwardly extending lugs 5 in which are pivoted apair of bell-crank levers 6, the inner ends 7 of which areinter-connected for simultaneous movement in a suitable manner as byproviding one of the levers 6 with a bifurcated end in which works a'pin8 fixed in the other of the levers. The piston 4 is provided with asuitable abutment or boss 9 for engagement with the joint 7 of thelevers 6 so that upon admission of fluid pressure into the space abovethe piston 4, the levers 6 will be swung about their respective pivotsin the lugs 5.

A projection 10 may be formed upon one of the levers 6 adjacent to itspivot and projecting laterally beyond the side of the cylinder 3. Iprovide suitable means engaging the lug 10 to move the lever 6 in adirection opposite to that in which they are moved b the fluid pressurein the cylinder 3, such means in the present instance being in the formof a cylinder 11 having a piston 12 therein which engages the lug 10,the piston being forced downwardlyby a spring 13, the compressive forceof which is adjustable by means of a screw 14 threaded in the top orhead of the cylinder 11, which screw may be secured in adjusted positionby a jam nut 14. a

A pair of tongs 15 are provided, one connected to each of the levers 6in any suitable manner as shown at 16, these connections preferablyhaving provision for adjustment of the tongs toward and away from thelevers 6, which may be accomplished by providing elongate slots (notshown) in the upper ends of the tongs 15. The lower ends 0 the tongs maybe provided'with V or arcuate-shaped notches for engagement with theupper portion of the articles of glassware, such as the bottle 17 shown.

For the purpose of steadying the lower portion of the article 17 beingconveyed, I provide a member 18 which is secured to one of the members6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, this preferably being accomplished by oneof the same screws used to hold one of the tongs 15 in position. At itsupper end, the member 18 is pivotally connected at 19 with a pair ofoppositely disposed bracket members 20, these members having connectedthereto substantially vertical rods 21 and having provision, such as setscrews 22, for permitting the adjustment of the vertical position of therods 21.

The member 18 is provided with an aperture 23 through which extends aprojection 24 which may be integral with or suitably secured to thecylinder member 3, and which carries a member 25 having a pair of camsurfaces 26 at each side of its downwardly projecting portion. The rods21 are provided with longitudinally adjustable brackets 27 held thereonby set screws 28 and having at their inner portions rollers 29 whichengage the cam surfaces 26 to rotate the rods 21 about their pivots 19when these pivots are moved to move the rollers along the cam. Suitablemeans, such as a tension spring 30, extend between the rods 21intermediate their ends resiliently to urge them toward each other. Thero s are provided at or adjacent to their lower ends with suitablefingers 31 which are fixed thereto through brackets 32 havin provisionfor both angular and longitudinal adjustment both with respect to thefingers 31 and with respect to the rods 21 by the provision of setscrews 33 and 34 respectively. It is contemplated also that the fingers31 may be interchanged with fingers of other shapes or sizes toaccommodate ware of various shapes.

Inasmuch as the member 18 is of relatively thin sheet metal, it has acertain resilience which, combined with the resilience of the rods 21and that of the spring 30, results in the fingers 31 holding the article17 with a resilient pressure in all directions in a horizontal plane.Furthermore, inasmuch as the vertical movement of the rods 21 withrespect to the stationary parts of the device and the tongs 15 isrelatively slight during the engagement of both the tongs and thefingers with the ware, there will be little, if any, relative verticalmovement between these parts which might scratch or deform the articlebeing conveyed.

Inasmuch as the brackets 27 are individually vertically adjustable withrespect to the rods 21, it is obvious that the timing of the movement ofone or both of the fingers 31 with respect to the movement of the tongs15 may be varied at will. Also, as the fingers 31 are longitudinally andangularly adjustable with respect to the rods 21, and also as theirinner ends 35 may be adjusted toward and away from these rods, it isclear that bottles or other ware of various sizes and shapes may beaccommodated. This adjustability is still further augmented by theinterchangeability of the fingers 31.

In 'addition, in view of the fact that the rods'21 are longitudinallyadjustable with respect to each of the brackets 20, 27 and 32, theserods may be adjusted up or down without varying the relative positionsof the tongs 15 and the fingers 31, to vary the distance between thespring 30 and the points 19 of pivotal support of the rods and thus varythe resilient pressure of the rods 21 upon the article being conveyed.Thus it will be seen that the necessary adjustments may be made toaccommodate ware of almost any desired configuration or size.

Due to the arrangement of the actuating mechanism, i. e. the member 18,pivots 19 and cam and roller devices, the upper ends of the rods 21 willbe swung inward toward the'supporting member 1 about one of the pivotsof the right hand member 6 in the lug 5 as a center, as seen'in Fig. 1thus swinging the lower end of the rods 21 and the fingers 31 away fromthe ware to a point shown in Fig. 4 where a straight line joining theinner ends 35 of the fingers 31 will lie wholly on one side of the ware17 and on the other side of the fingers 31 and rods 21, this actionbeing in addition to and simultaneous with that of spreading the rods 21by swinging them about their pivots 19, performed by the cam and rollerarrangement. The advantages of this construction are that the fingers 31are entirely clear of the ware at their inoperative position permittingthe ware to be moved laterally toward or away from a position inalignment with the tongs 15 and also permitting the article beingconveyed to be placed beside or between other ware in a lateral row,such as the usual arrangement upon the conveyor belt of a lehr, withoutthe fingers 31 engaging or interfering with the articles on either sideof the article being conveyed.

As many modifications might be made in my device without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, I do not wish to be limited to the specificconstruction here shown and described, but merely by the scope of theappended claims, which are to be construed as broadly as the state ofthe prior art permits.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware gripping device comprising asupport, a pair of bell-crank levers pivotally mounted thereon, a pairof ware gripping tongs connected respectively to one arm of each of saidlevers, the remaining arms of said levers being interconnected forsimultaneous motion, a fluid pressure operated piston, means associatedwith said piston to operate said levers to open said tongs, a projectionon one of said bell-crank levers, and resilient means associated withsaid projection tending to close said tongs about the ware.

2. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, apair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe ware adjacent to its top, means to open and close said tongs, a pairof steadying fingers to engage the ware adjacent to its bottom, andmeans to operate said fingers to bring them into and out of engagementwith the ware, the parts being so constructed. and arrangedthat thedirection of the gripping action of said tongs is substantiallyperpendicular to that of said fingers.

3. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprlsing asupport, a pair of gripping tongs pivotally mounted thereon to swingtoward each other to engage the top portion of the Ware, a pair ofsubstantially vertical rods pivotally mounted adjacent to said supportto swing in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction ofswing of said tongs, bottle engaging fingers secured to said rods andadapted to engage the lower portion of the ware to steady it, and meansfor operating said fingers.

4. In a ware conveying mechanism, a Ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the ware, a pair of independently movable fingers toengage the lateral sides of the lower portion of the ware to steady it,and means to move said fingers to an inoperative position in which theware is free to move in a lateral direction.

5. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the ware, a pair of fingers to engage the lateralsides of the lower portion of the were to steady it, and means to movesaid fingers in three dimensional paths to positions entirely clear ofthe ware.

6. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the Ware, a pair of fingers adapted to engage thelateral sides of the lower portion of the ware to steady it, and meansto move said fingers to in operative positions so that a straight linewould pass between the fingers and the ware.

7. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the ware, and a pair of fingers adapted to engage thelower portion of the ware to steady it, said fingers being resilientlymovable inevery direction in a substantially horizontal plane.

8. In a Ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the ware, a pair of fingers adapted to engage thelower portion of the ware to steady it, means for actuating said tongsto grip the ware, and means'for actuating said fingers to engage theware, said tongs and said fingers being spaced apart at substantially aconstant distance throughout the opening and closing movements of both,whereby to pre-- vent distortion of and injury to the ware.

9. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the ware, a pair of fingers adapted to engage thelower portion of the ware to steady it, and means for individuallyvarying the degree of movement of each of said fingers, whereby ware ofvarying sizes and shapes may be accommodated.

10. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to enga ethe top portion of the ware, a pair of fingers mounted for movement withrespect to said support and adapted to engage the lower portion of theware to steady it, means for actuating said tongs to grip the ware, rodsto which said fingers are secured, a stationary cam, cam rollersindividually adjustable along each of said rods, whereby to vary themovement of said fingers with a given differential movement between saidcam and said rollers, and means operable b said tongs for giving saidrods such a di erential movement.

11. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a

pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engage the topportion of the ware, a pair of fingers adapted to engage the lowerportion of the ware to steady it, means for actuating said tongs to gripthe ware, means operable by movement of said tongs for actuating saidfingers, and means associated with each of said fingers forindependently adjusting the path of its movement with respect to themovement of said tongs.

12. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the ware, a pair of gers adapted to engage the lowerportion of the ware to steady it, means resiliently to urge said fingerstoward one another to engage the ware, and means independent of thespacing of said tongs from said fingers for varying the resilientpressure of the fingers on the ware.

13. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon, means to move saidtongs simultaneously toward and away from each other, an aperturedmember carried by one of said tongs, a pair of rods pivoted tothe outerend of said member to swing in a direction substantially perpendicularto the direction of movement of said tongs, a cam rotruding through thea rture in said mem er, means on each of said rods to engage said cam tospread their lower ends on movement of said tongs to open position, andfingers on said rods adapted to engage and steady the lower portion ofthe ware.

14. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon,

means to move said tongs simultaneously toward and away from each other,a resilient apertured member carried by one of said tongs, a pair ofrods pivoted to the outer end of said member to swing in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of said tongs, acam protruding through the aperture in said member, means on each ofsaid rods to engage said cam to spread their lower ends on movement ofsaid tongs to open position, resilient means tending to draw said rodstogether, and fingers on said rods adapted to engage and steady thelower portion of the ware, whereby said fingers are resiliently heldagainst the ware in all directions in a substantially horizontal plane.

15. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon, means to move saidtongs simultaneously toward and away from each other, an aperturedmember carried by one of said tongs, a pair of rods pivoted to the outerend of said member to swing in a direction substantially perpendicularto the direction of movement of said tongs, a cam protruding through theaperture in said member, means on each of said rods to engage said camto spread their lower ends on movement of said tongs to open position,and fingers on said rods adapted to engage and steady the lower portionof the ware, said rods being secured to said member so as to permitlongitudinal adjustment thereof to vary the distance between said tongsand said fingers.

16. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon, means to move saidtongs simultaneously toward and away from each other, an aperturedmember carried by one of said tongs a pair of rods pivoted to the outerend 0 said member to swing in a direction substantially perpendicular tothe direction of movement of said tongs, a cam through the aperture insaid mem er, means on each of said rods to engage said cam to spreadtheir lower ends on movement of said tongs to open position, and fingersindividually vertically adjustably mounted on said rods and adapted toengage and steady the lower portion of the ware.

17. In a ware conveying mechanism, a Ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon, means to move saidtongs simultaneously toward and away from each other, an aperturedmember carried by one of said tongs, a pair of rods pivoted to the outerend of said member to swing in a direction substantially perpendicularto the direction of movement of said tongs, a cam protruding through theaperture in said member, means on each of said rods to engage said camto spread their rotruding lower ends on movement of said tongs to openposition, a tension spring extending between said rods intermediatetheir ends, and fingers individually adjustably mounted on said rods andadapted to engage and steady the lower portion of the Ware, said rodsbeing secured to said member to permit of a longitudinal adjustmentthereof to vary the tension exerted on said fingers by said m spring.

18. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted resilietlyto engage the top portion of the ware, a pair of fingers adapted toengage the lower portion of the ware to steady it, means responsive tothe movement of said tongs to move said fingers into and out ofengagement with the ware, means 29 individually adjustable with respectto each of said fingers for varying the timing and extent of suchmovement with respect to that of said tongs, means for individuallyadjusting the spacing of said fingers from said tongs, means resilientin all directions in a substantially horizontal plane for urging thefingers to engage the ware, and means for varying such resilientpressure in one such direction. 30 19. In a ware conveying mechanism, aware holding device comprising a support, a pair of gripping tongsmounted thereon and adapted to engage the top portion of the ware,substantially vertical rods, a pair of fingers supported by said rodsand adapted to engage the lower ortion of the ware to stead it, andmeans or connecting said rods and ngers so that the fingers may beadjustable longitudinally and angularly about a predetermined pointadjacent to the lower ends of said rods.

20. In a ware conveying mechanism, a ware holding device comprising asupport, a pair of gripping tongs mounted thereon and adapted to engagethe top portion of the ware, substantially vertical rods, a pair offingers supported by said rods and adapted to engage the lower portionof the ware to steady it, interconnecting brackets between as said rodsand said fingers, and means permitting both rods and fingers to belongitudinally and angular-1y adjustable with respect to said brackets,and also permitting interchange of fingers of various types. Signed atHartford, Conn. this 19th day of November 1927.

JOHN E. SCI-IRODER.

